Buthelezi at London screening of ‘Zulu’

IFP websiteIFP president Mangosuthu Buthelezi with Britains Prince Harry on the red carpet at the 50th anniversary screening of the movie Zulu at the Odeon theatre in London on Tuesday.

IFP president Mangosuthu Buthelezi was among the stars who attended the 50th anniversary screening of the movie ‘Zulu’ in London on Tuesday night.

The screening of the digitally remastered film starring Michael Caine, and which included Buthelezi in the cast, was held at the Odeon in London’s Leicester Square.

The 1964 masterpiece centres on the 1878 Battle of Rorke’s Drift between 139 British soldiers and about 4 000 Zulu warriors.

Only 17 British soldiers died in the battle and a record 11 were awarded the Victoria Cross for their heroic efforts in withstanding repeated waves of attackers.

Buthelezi portrayed his great-grandfather, King Cetshwayo kaMpande, in the movie. He said that while the British might ultimately have triumphed in the Anglo-Zulu War, the aim of the film was to show bravery on both sides.

He could not attend the original premiere, in 1964, because of apartheid restrictions.

In an interview on Tuesday, he described the movie set as an oasis where “whites and blacks could mingle without any fuss”.

Britain’s Prince Harry joined Buthelezi on the red carpet.

The screening was also to raise funds for three charities. Prince Harry is involved with two of them, Walking With The Wounded – which retrains injured soldiers – and Sentebale, which supports orphans in Lesotho. Buthelezi and Prince Charles are patrons of the third, the David Rattray Foundation, which provides schooling and care for deprived children in southern Africa. - The Mercury

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